


Small Grows Larger

by Anatemnein



Category: Family Law (TV 1999)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:26:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22671736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anatemnein/pseuds/Anatemnein
Summary: A bathtub starts a conversation about feelings between Randi and Andres.
Relationships: Randi King/Andres Diaz
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	Small Grows Larger

**Author's Note:**

> This story follows the storyline of the prior two stories in this series.

~~~~

Andres lay in his bed, running his hand through his hair and knocking a loose strand off his forehead as he listened to the sound of water filling up his tub as the moon sat looming in the sky. The night had gone as they usually do, he and Randi rushing out of work and to his place, falling into bed and spending the better part of an hour--close to two if he was honest--in his bed before Randi stood, announcing to him that she was going to take a bath. 

He'd reluctantly let her go, teasingly pulling her hand and pouting at her before she closed the door, and now he listened closely as the water splashed against the tub and her voice crooned smoothly from the other side of the door.

For all their months sleeping together, Randi still refused to bathe with the door open--or with him--and so he settled for listening to her as his mind turned over what her husband might've done at some murky point in their past to make her so uneasy about sharing a bathroom with someone. He was about to drift off to sleep when he heard the door swing open gently, and turned his head to see Randi leaning against the door frame, peering curiously at him.

"Hey" he said, furrowing his brow slightly and wondering if something was wrong.

"Tired?" she asked, a grin teasing the edges of her lips.

"Thanks to you" he shot back, smirking at her and feeling a dull ache in his muscles which he knew would be there tomorrow.

"I sit in an office all day, what do you expect?"

At this, Andres laughed before asking, "What's wrong? My water not the right temperature?"

Randi hesitated, the expression on her face faltering for a few moments before she said quietly, "I'm bored, thought you might come talk to me."

"...Talk to you?" Andres asked, somewhat confused.

Randi nodded, turning from the door and walking passed the mirror over his sink, where Andres could see her slip off his bathrobe before getting into the tub. He hesitated, still confused by her request, before lifting himself--slowly--out of bed and following her into the bathroom, hovering at the door before closing it and taking a seat on the toilet opposite the tub.

"You keep my soap" she said, looking up at him through her lashes.

"Huh?" he asked, looking at her in confusion.

At this, she turned and reached behind her, grabbing the bar of soap from the soap dish and waving it at him. "Lavender bar soap? I only mentioned it once, and now you've got two in your bathroom every time I come over."

Andres looked down shyly, not used to being a romantic--and most certainly not used to getting called out for being sensitive--and shrugged nonchalantly as he said, "It's the only thing in my apartment you've complimented."

Randi paused, shooting a pointed glance at his waist before raising her eyes slowly to meet his as she said, "Not the only thing", smirking coyly at him.

Andres watched her slowly massage the soap into her skin before biting his lip and saying softly, "You flirting with me, Randi?"

Randi peeked at him over her shoulder and blew a curl out of her face before shooting back, "I sleep with you, I don't have to flirt with you."

"You're not answering my question."

"I'm not sure I understand the question, your Honor--I might have to object."

Andres inhaled slowly, shaking his head in semi-annoyance at her avoidance and watching her curiously as she poured water over herself and reached for the dark colored loofah she'd brought over--and left--at his place as she bathed, humming quietly to herself. He felt a curious mix of wonder and frustration. Their agreement that they take things "one day at a time"--his words, not hers--had been enough to buckle only a bit of her reserve, and he still felt that he didn't know her all that well, and, moreover, that she was more than content to keep things that way. It wasn't the first time Andres' complex network of feelings had come into his conscious awareness. He'd felt them before: when they ate lunch together, at her favorite cafe, and she'd mumbled evasively when he asked how long she'd been coming here; when her birthday approached and he bent over her desk one day, kissing her neck and asking what she wanted, which had only roused from her a wry glance and a dismissive "I don't do birthdays, Andres", before she'd turned away from him; when, as they lay in bed one night, he had innocently inquired about her dating life before marriage, curious as to what kind of men she was attracted to (and who she was at that point), only to watch her roll her eyes before climbing out of bed to use the restroom as she responded, "Who can remember, Andres?". To be fair, he knew that their relationship would not take a course near as familiar as his prior relationships (which had consisted of plenty of one night stands and casual good times), but he still felt that his patience and gentleness hadn't exactly been rewarded, and at times, it angered him. (Plus, he had no one to talk to about this. He'd certainly said nothing to his parents about Randi, beyond the noncommittal niceties one usually says about coworkers, and when his mother asked if there was anyone special she should know about, he'd shot a glance down at his dinner and said, "Nope, just busy with work" as he'd shoved another forkful of food into his mouth.)

Now, as he sat in his quiet, warm bathroom, he felt the sight of her tug at his heartstrings as she hummed to herself, completely absorbed in the task at hand and unperturbed by the silence.

"You like for me to sit here, Randi?" he asked, his Chilean accent stumbling over the question as his nerves got the better of him.

Randi turned to look at him and shot him a quizzical look before replying, "Well...I asked you to, Andres...".

He turned away again, and she noted the flicker of annoyance that crossed his face, hesitating before adding, "But yes, since you asked, I do like it. I asked you for a reason. I don't do anything without a reason, which you've probably noticed."

Andres stared moodily at the ground before saying quietly, "I don't know, Randi, I don't know why you do anything because you never tell me."

She was about to fire off a cool remark when she caught sight of the vague sadness that he was trying to hide and felt her iciness waver, resting an arm on the edge of the tub and her chin on top of it as she looked at him pointedly. "You're mad because I don't answer questions."

She watched as he shrugged, opening his mouth, then closing it again before finally looking up at her and saying, "I don't know who you are, Randi."

Randi shifted uncomfortably, looking down at the bathwater--gentle wisps of steam still rising from it--and replying, "We've been over this before, Andres, it's not that simple."

"It's not that hard, either."

She looked up at him in frustration, but he leaned forward on his knees and said, "I know it's not that simple, but we both said we'd take things one day at a time, and I'm as close to the beginning as I was when we started."

He waited for her to reply before he added, "Give me something else besides your body."

She bit the inside of her lip, gripping the loofah tightly and staring tensely into the water before inhaling slowly and looking up at him as she said, "I like when you're around, Andres."

Andres felt his face flicker with surprise as he looked down at her, her usually powerful, sinewy body looking so small and helpless in his tub. He waited a few moments, turning his eyes away from her before looking back at her, hesitating before rising from the toilet seat and falling to his knees beside the tub, reaching under the water and grabbing the sponge from her hands, looking deeply into her eyes as he said, "Can I do your back?"

She looked shyly at him--one of the few times he'd seen anything approaching bashfulness cross her face--before turning away from him and offering her back for him to wash as she peeked over her shoulder, watching curiously as he soaped her down gently before reaching for the cup on the rim of the tub and gently washing the soap from her, stroking her back and kissing her gently, inhaling the scent of lavender as it mixed with the natural sweetness of her skin. He heard her moan softly in response and kissed the nape of her neck, nuzzling his face against her before withdrawing slowly and saying, "You want a towel?"

She nodded as he rose to his feet, grabbing the softest towel in the closet beside the bathtub before unraveling it and holding it out to her as she stepped from the water and onto the bathmat, wrapping it around herself and wiping the streams of water from her face.

He looked at her, waiting until she hesitantly looked up at him before smiling tenderly at her and stroking a strand of hair from her face, his finger stroking her arm as he said, "Back to bed?"

"Thought you were tired" Randi replied, smirking up at him and shyly looking down for a few seconds as he teased her hand with his. 

"I have energy to cuddle" he said, throwing her a nervous grin as he used a word he swore only a few years before--drunkenly, on his friend's 21st birthday--would never escape his lips.

She paused, shifting shyly before sighing a little and smiling as she said, "Alright", falling in line beside him as he drew an arm around her shoulders, kissing her temple as he smiled to himself. She draped the towel over a chair and slid back underneath his covers, where he already lay, one arm stretched toward her. She turned, looking down at him briefly before relenting and nestling herself against him as he turned the TV on to one of her favorite shows. She blinked in surprise as he did this, fearing that laying back down with him would be misconstrued as an open invitation for further questioning, but slowly eased into her spot against him, looking inconspicuously up at him and realizing instantly that he knew her well enough to let things be. They lay in silence for a few moments before Andres began stroking his hand along her arm, pausing teasingly to grab at her fingers before continuing to caress her. She relaxed, if only a bit more, and waited for a moment before saying softly, "Can you wake me up at 9, I don't want to be late getting home."

Andres turned to look at her, studying her carefully before smiling and saying, "Sleeping over, I thought you didn't do that."

Randi shot him a snarky look and said, "I am not sleeping over, I'm napping over for the next hour and a half until I go home to my own bed."

He smirked and rolled his eyes, reaching for his bedside clock and setting it for 9pm before turning back to her and saying, "Off to sleep mi amor", the expression on his face wavering slightly and softening in a way it never had before as he looked over at her.

Randi felt her breath catch in her throat, but did her best to make sure she evinced no reaction whatsoever at the sight, and paused before leaning over and kissing his chest gently, swatting him and saying, "Thank you" quietly as she rested an arm along his waist and closed her eyes.

Andres waited until her breath became slow and shallow to turn off the TV, plunging his bedroom into darkness. He set the remote back on his nightstand before turning to look at her, her small, warm body nestled in the crook of his arm as she slept soundly beside him, impossibly glamorous even with her wet hair and make-up free skin. That bead of feeling that Andres had felt so many weeks ago, when she'd hugged him in the office kitchen, rolled steadily now and grew only bigger, another feeling to add to the complex network of feelings that he had for her. Only this time, the feeling was bigger, bigger than all the other feelings and growing stronger with every day, every moment that he passed with her in his bed, every time he bent his head to kiss her naked skin, leaving more kisses than the last time. 

Andres leaned forward slowly to kiss her forehead and realized he didn't know what he wanted more: for Randi to call him on his feelings, or for her to never notice.


End file.
